"YES!" I pumped my fist in the air and lost my hold on her windowsill. I landed in a bush a story down. "Woops." I was laughing. I heard the window above me open and Tanya poked her head out.

Looking down at me she said, "Are you alright!" Man, this girl was so much like me. She didn't start with the question of who the heck am I and why was I spying on her, no, she started by asking if I was okay after I fell off her window.

I got myself untangled from the bush and called up that I was fine. I took a few steps back and looked back up at her window. "You might wanna take a step back." Now that she believed I was there we could collide. Once she'd moved I took a running leap and ran up the side of her house 'til I could grab the windowsill again. I hoisted myself in and landed on her floor.

She was halfway across her room, caught between common sense telling her to leave the stranger, and her curiosity wanting to know who I really was. I could see the debate on her face. I'd had that feeling more than once. I stayed by her window, to try and seem un-threatening. "Um... Who are you?"

I smiled. "You should already know, or at least have an idea. Seeing as you can see me."

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. I saw her eyes dart to a spot on my left, and I followed her gaze. I then burst out laughing. This girl was quick! "Oh, wow." She'd looked at a poster on her wall. The poster happened to be for the movie Rise of the Guardians.

"What?"

I shook my head, still half-laughing. "Nothing, just that you have that poster. I really shouldn't be surprised." I looked at her again. "You figured it out yet?"

"You're not... but that's not really real, I mean... it's just a movie..."

"And a book series, and a horde of fanfictions, not to mention fanart. And it's all based off legends that have been around as long as humans."

She was staring at me wide-eyed. "But..." She shook her head. Now, this is why I dislike people as a whole. We've all convinced ourselves that magic isn't real and we're stuck in this world of boringness. That and most of them are stupid beyond reason. She was stuck in the mindset that immortals don't exist.

"Come, on. A girl that reads as often as you? A girl who loves stories as much as you do? You're trying to convince yourself otherwise." I shook my head and sighed. This is why kids are easier... but kids aren't really old enough to comprehend the real love of stories.

"You're really an immortal aren't you?"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! See, I knew you wouldn't psyche yourself out of it." I still hadn't left her window. And I think she might have been frozen in her spot. "I'm really glad you can see me... I'd hoped I could get you to."

She smiled softly, and it was then that I realized that I already saw her as a friend. "What's your name?"

I pulled myself in to an official looking pose. "I, am Story Tale, the feeling and love of stories." I finished my own introduction with a curtsey. I pulled out of it and resumed my normal, more comfortable, pose.

Tanya's eyes widened and her mouth opened in wonder. "You're stories?" She sounded eager, almost like she was meeting a celebrity. It was cool, and I was almost milking it. Almost.

"That, I am."

"Wait... were you there this morning when I was working on my painting?" I nodded. "And when I was reading Beowulf?"

"Yep."

She seemed almost hesitant to ask this last question, but, just like I figured, she plowed ahead. "And the library? Showing me the books?"

"Yes and yes. Girl, I've been following you since yesterday."

"I felt you in the art room! I was, like, weirdly inspired and, when M came over it was like I just woke up from a nap."

I laughed. "Yeah, I've had that happen a few times."

She noticed that I hadn't yet moved and jolted in surprise. "Oh! Um... do you want to sit?" She gestured at her room.

I shrugged. "Sure." I went and sat on the edge of her bed, and she sat next to me.

She was still wide-eyed. "Wow..." She breathed.

I laughed again. "I'm not a celebrity! I grew up here, for Pete's sake. Not really that special."

"You grew up here?" I nodded. "How old are you? Well, not how old you look, I mean you look nineteen, but your real age."

"Twenty-six."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "But... I thought all the immortals were old. Like a few centuries... I thought Jack Frost was the newest one. Wait - are the Guardians real!"

"Yes, yes they are."

"That means Jack's real?"

"Oh, he's real alright. He's my roommate. Or, landlord... Whatever, I live at his place." I waved my arm in a way that said I didn't feel like trying to find the right term.

"Wait, wait, wait... roommate?"

"Yep, there are three other's who live there too, one's an immortal, and the other two are technically legendary creatures."

"What creatures are real?"

"Basically all of them, I've only met a few of them though. Some even I'd never heard of, so you know they stay well below the radar."

"So what are your roommates?"

"Selie is a Lillend. And Del..." I chuckled softly, anticipating the reaction. "Well, Del's a dragon."

"Dragons... are real." A look passed over her face and I swear I could almost hear her brain going "SQUEEEEEE!"

"Oh, yeah. But Del acts more like fat housecat than the ones from stories."

"What's he like?"

"Well..." We talked for hours, mostly me answering her questions. On one hand, I was bored with questions, but on the other, I love talking, and this was the first mortal, aside from my bro, who could see and hear me. I was not holding back. Midnight rolled around and Tanya was yawning so wide I thought bats were going to move in. "Okay, you need sleep. Tomorrow you have school. I'll see ya later!" I walked over to the window, which was still open and started climbing out.

"Bye."

"Oh, hey, wanna see something cool?"

She instantly perked up. "Sure." She came over to the window.

"Watch this. You have the privilege of seeing my wings..." I called my wings to me, and they formed, one inside Tanya's room, one outside the window, as I was straddling the sill. Her jaw just about hit the floor. "Alright, see you tomorrow." I leapt out the window and hovered for a second outside.

"See ya tomorrow." I turned and flew away. As I was leaving I heard her say to herself, "I hope this wasn't a dream... I want it to be real... please let it be real."

I'd seem the Dreamsand hours ago, and all it took was a little flying west to find the trails again. I followed them to the cloud. Perched on top was the little star pilot who'd accepted me at the meeting without question. He saw my wings as they fluttered away and turned to face me. A smile appeared as he flashed his symbols for 'Hello'.

"Hi, Sandy."

'What brings you here?'

"I... uh, I actually had a question. Well, a few actually. What age do you stop giving dreams?"

He waved his hand in a 'so-so' gesture. 'It depends, sometimes a child believes longer, sometimes they don't'

"So you stop when they stop believing." He nodded. "Could you give a dream to a teenager? One that believes, sort of?"

He thought for a minute. 'Possibly. Who is this teenager?'

I smiled. "I have two believers now, Sandy. My brother, and this girl. I just left her - she needs sleep - and... she's scared that I was just a dream..." I looked over the edge of the could to the landscape below. "I know how she feels. I've had that same worry more than a few times, almost always when something great happened late at night. Sometimes I was wrong, but... In this instance, she could wake up and think I was just a dream, and that would ruin it. What I'm asking is... Could you give her a dream for me? One that proves I'm real?"

Sandy hesitated. Finally, he mimed, 'I could try. But there are no guarantees it will work on someone past their childhood.'

"I'm willing to take whatever chance I can get." Sandy made himself a plane and I called my wings back.

As we flew towards Tanya's house, Sandy glanced over at me. His plane, being made of Dreamsand, was silent and I wouldn't have to yell, which made me happy. 'How did you get a teenager to believe in you?'

I laughed. "I took a page from Jack's playbook. I messed with her. Talking through a music player, interrupting her while she was immersed in a story, and, finally, blatantly making things move in front of her. I followed her home and got her attention while she was reading - which is not an easy feat." I shook my head in slight wonder. "Sandy, this girl is so much like me... and she truly does love stories. She deserves this. I'm speaking from experience, the worst thing for someone who loves stories, is to eternally be chasing them, only to be caught in 'reality'. Meeting Jack was the best thing that happened to me as a mortal, and becoming an immortal was a dream come true for me. Tanya deserves to know that magic is real... no matter your age."

'You seem a lot older than you are. Did you learn this once you became immortal?'

"No... I knew most of this stuff for years before I even met Jack. I've known it since I picked up my first book. Incidentally, it was about the Tooth Fairy." We both laughed, Sandy silently. "You'll like her, Sandy. Heck, she's got a poster of the movie in her room!" Sandy raised his eyebrows. I laughed again. "I know, I had the same reaction!" We flew onwards and, an hour later, made it to Tanya's house.

I spent the rest of the night at my grandma's house. Well, on her house. A little weight was lifted when I realized she was still here. I don't mean still living in her house... I mean alive. She'd turned eighty the year I became immortal, a few months after actually. Though she seemed younger than she was, I had to remember that she wasn't a spring chicken. I mean, she'd worked at the local Haunted House with me for years, she's got a tattoo that she first got after she was a grandma and after she was retired, she wears tube-tops and shorts in the summer, goes barefoot too, she's got short spikey dark brown hair that she dyes, and she's got a lead-foot and drives like a bat-outtahell. That actually where I got my speed-demon tendencies.

But... For a few years before I became immortal, my mom had been telling me that she hoped grandma would hang around as long as possible. That's why a little weight was lifted, but only a little. It was only a matter of time before she wasn't... here, anymore. I sighed. Another thing to chalk up for the 'deal-with-its'.

At about 7:00 I saw my mom's van pull in, and Caeden get out. He waved bye to my mom as she pulled out and drove off to work. Caeden came and sat on the porch. I swung down and sat down on the handrail, dangling one leg while the other was propped up in front of me. "Where were you last night? I waited up 'til almost eleven. Then mom yelled at me to go to bed, so... you know mom."

"Well, I saw someone I know and followed them around for a bit, I lost track of time, sorry." That was true, while Tanya and I had talked the hours had flown by. I also kinda knew her. I wasn't gonna tell Caeden about her until I knew for sure she could still see me, though.

"Who was it?"

"No one you know bud. Hey, so when does Jack usually start swingin' by?"

"Late October, usually. So I see him sometimes at Halloween."

I eyed my brother. "Really?" I said with a faintly British accent. I'll use accents sometime, I have for years, even when I was mortal. I could fake some of them easily enough and certain words just sound better when used with a different accent. Caeden nodded. I grinned. "I think we might just go trick-or-treating with you this year. You are still going right?"

"Yeah, of course. That one of the best parts of Halloween!"

"And what's the other best part?" I already knew the answer. My brother and I had the same philosophy when it came to Halloween. Treats and Costumes.

"Dressing up, duh."

I fist bumped him. "That's my bro." We heard his bus turn the corner and he got up. I followed him to the street where the bus stopped and he got in, while I got on. After one more stop I got bored, and I was anxious to see Tanya. I leaned over and called through the window. "I'll meet you there, bud!" I jumped up and called my wings, which were there in an instant. I flapped off towards the school.

Less than a minute later I touched down in front of the school, where the kids who arrived by car were dropped off. I walked in behind some kids who'd let the door swing shut behind them... that I held open and let shut behind me. Not that they noticed that the door was held open a moment longer than it should have been. The past two days, I'd noticed Tanya wasn't the type to hang out in the cafeteria, like half the student body. No, if my hunch was right, she'd be hanging out near the library.

Oh, look, I was right. She was standing at the doors to the library, juggling her bag and her books. From what I could see she was trying to return a book or two. I walked up behind her. "You need help with that?"

I saw her shoulders slump in relief. With her back still to me she said, "That would be great, thanks." She turned around, saw me standing there and promptly dropped everything she'd been juggling. She slapped her hand over her mouth and I was sure she was trying not to blurt out something that would make her sound crazy. With her eyes wide she grabbed her things and scurried off to M's room. I followed.

She knocked on the door and he called her in. "Hey, M? Can I leave my stuff in here 'til the bell? I want to get a new book and Ms. Mitchel's not here yet. I don't want you to think I'm late or anything."

"Sure, just don't be more than ten minutes late, or I'm gonna have to mark you tardy."

"Thanks!" She dropped her stuff in her spot and left the room almost as the bell rang. I followed by hopping along the tops of the lockers, until I made it to the library almost a full minute after her, as I'd had to wait for the kids to get outta my way for some parts. She was off in the corner, farthest away from the desk and behind some shelves where we could mostly hide. When I rounded the corner of the rack she whisper-screamed, "I knew it wasn't a dream! I knew you were real! I knew my imagination wasn't that good." She smiled up at me. "You're here, you're really here!"

I laughed. "I told you I'd see ya tomorrow."

"I know, I just thought it might have been a dream. But I had another dream later that made me think it wasn't..." I smiled to myself. She shook her head. "Anyway, I am so glad you're still here!"

"I'm glad you remember me."

"How could I forget you? You're stories. Good stories are never forgotten."

I paused. Did she really just say that? A grateful smile covered my face. "Well said." We sat there smiling at each other for a moment before I said, "Shouldn't you be getting back to art?"

"Oh, yeah!" I followed after her laughing and shaking my head. "So, what do you think of my painting?"

"You heard me yesterday. Seriously? It's awesome. I didn't master clouds 'til a few years back, and that river... Girl, you got skills."

She blushed. "You really think so?"

I gave her an are-you-kidding-me look. I hate when people show insecurities. Partly because I got rid of mine over a decade ago, and partly because, when they deserve the compliment, they shouldn't feel that they don't. "I'm Story Tale, remember? I know a good story when I see one. Imaginary is a great painting."

"How'd you know that's what it was called?"

"You based it off the song Imaginary. Knowing that it's easy to guess. And, again, I'm Story Tale, I kinda know what a story's called, regardless of the form it's in."

We'd made it to the art room and she got out her painting and her supplies. Today, as with yesterday, she was painting the paper flowers... which was very time consuming, believe you me. Because she could now see - and hear me - I sat on the opposite side of her so I could talk while she painted. "I love the way you did these trees, by the way." She said thank you in sign language. "You know sign language?" She nodded. "Well, then talking to you with other people around is going to be much easier. I'm a bit rusty at it though, so you might have to spell most of the words out." She then sighed something that, a few years ago, I might have asked her to repeat... but now I read it like a book. Man, I love my powers. "Never mind, I can read them fine. One of my best friends was taking ASL as her major in college. How'd you learn it?"

'My cousin is deaf. They used to live down the block but moved away a few years back. I still remember though.'

Sandy's symbols were easier to read, but I could still figure out what she was saying. It was harder though since she was trying to keep it low key, and not look like she was having a spaz attack or anything. I didn't blame her.

'Are you coming to my next class?'

"Eh... it's chemistry. I took that already, not really keen on re-taking it." She looked confused a minute before understanding crossed her features. "You already forgot that I followed you yesterday, didn't you?" She nodded. "You're just as bad as Caeden." I said under my breath.

'Who?'

I paused. "I'll tell ya later." I sat back and looked around the room. I wanted to draw, or paint, or something... alas, I wasn't supposed to move visible things when I was invisible. "Eugh! School is so boring. Once you've graduated that is. I'll be back." I got up and went over to the door that lead to the courtyard. Luckily, someone came over to spray something a minute later, so I didn't have to wait long. I called my wings and took off, heading for my old house.

My wings were pretty smart. They knew when to come and when not to. I mean, stories wouldn't form into my wings unless no one was going to miss it or see it flying towards me. Even though I'd stood right next to more than a hundred stories, in the art room and the library, I guarantee, none of them formed my wings. They all probably came from the houses nearby.

I made it to the house and dropped to my old window, sliding it open as I did. I slipped into the game room and went over to my old bed. Stretching underneath it, I got a hold of my bag. Caeden and I had agreed that it would be the best place to stash it. It was out of the way if it became visible in my absence and I didn't have to carry it with me everywhere. I went back to the window and called my wings back. That's another thing I love about my wings. They're not attached, as in, not bulky and in the way. I always let them go the moment I go into a building. I'd learned from the first time they'd broke to not let it happen again.

Closing the window behind me, I flew off back to the school. I dropped into the courtyard not three minutes after I left. Walking towards the door that lead into the art room, I noticed Tanya jump up and come over to the doors, carrying some piece with her and grabbing a can of fixative as she went. She popped out the doors and went to the nearest table to set down the charcoal drawing she'd brought. "I needed a reason to come out."

"I know."

She vigorously shook the can and began to spray the drawing. "Where'd you go?"

I held up my bag. "To get my stuff so I can draw too." She looked at me with confusion.

"Can't you just magic up a piece?"

I burst out laughing. "No, I can't just 'magic up' a piece. My powers don't work like that. And just because I am stories, doesn't mean I can't make them." She picked up her piece and waved it around a little, to dry it more and to try and air out the smell of the fixative. "Besides, it's more fun to do things by hand." I craned my neck to see the piece she'd sprayed, and snorted.

She blushed. "What?"

"Nothing. It's a nice picture of Tooth."

"Then why'd you snort?"

"Because I did one a few weeks ago that looks almost like a colored version of yours." I pulled out the piece I'd done a few days after the meeting. I'd actually done each of the guardians, even Jack, as well as each of my friends. I'd brought them with me to give to subject of each respective piece. I'd given Sandy his the pervious night.

She looked at my picture of Tooth and her shoulders slumped. "You're so good." She looked down at hers.

I could tell what she was gonna do by the look on her face. "Don't. You. Dare." She looked up at me in alarm. Part of me felt a little guilty for scaring her, but the rest of me was too mad at what she'd been thinking to care. When I'd been mortal, I'd hated throwing away any piece of art, any piece of writing, however much I was disappointed, stayed. And whenever one of my books had the slightest change of being harmed I flipped. Now I was far more protective of stories, being one of them. "If you destroy that, you will never see me again." I was pissed.

Tanya looked like she might pee her pants. Back when I'd been mortal, I'd worked at the Niles Haunted House. It was rated one of the top ten in the country more than a few times, so I'd always been proud to work there. I'd also been great at scaring people. My specialties were sneaking up on people and appearing out of nowhere, and my faces. I had two faces, one was scary and one was just plain evil. The difference? A smile. I was giving her the scary one now, and I wasn't joking like I'd been when at the House. No, now I was dead serious. No pun intended.

"Okay... okay..." She gestured at me to calm down like you would to some wild animal or a dog that's ready to attack. I blinked. I could feel the look slip from my face, could feel the red flags fade from the atmosphere. "I'm sorry. I should have realized that stories mean a lot to you."

I sighed and ran my hand over my face. "No, I'm sorry. I overreacted, like, a lot. I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

"It's okay." She said it, but I could see she was shaken. Damn it! Way to make a first impression on your first believer! She turned and went beck inside, making sure to discreetly hold the door open for me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have scared you like that. Stories are just..." I looked away for a moment. "Stories use to be everything to me, now they're everything that I am. To see someone about to destroy one just - I don't know - flipped a switch in my brain." I laughed once. "Now I know how Sel feels."

'Your roommate?' I nodded. 'What do you mean by that?' We were back to sign language.

"Sel's a Lillend. Do you know what they are?" She shook her head. "Well, what legends say are they were a race of creatures from another world. In reality, they were from the Golden Age, which is technically a different world. 99% of them are females. They are like Nagas except for the fact that they have wings as well. So, torso and head of beautiful girl, the rest of their body a snake's and bird wings. They also love stories. They'd rather be payed with a story than with gold. They collect artwork, books, music, instruments, etc. They are also extremely territorial. Oh, and immortal."

I paused for a breath. "So, when I first met Sel, she was trying to basically kill me since I was 'trespassing' as she put it. I threw up a wall of stories - on instinct, I hadn't figured out how to actually use my powers yet - and she deadpanned. She wouldn't harm a story if her life depended on it. She's as protective of her home as I am of stories... You know, I hadn't quite realized that until now." I stopped for a moment and watched her paint. "I am sorry about scaring you. I shouldn't have. Actually, Jack and the others would be mad at me if they found out. You mind if we keep this between us?"

'Who am I gonna tell?'

"Right." I became entranced for a moment. I realized she was discreetly staring at me and had asked the same question a few times. I shook my head to clear it. "Sorry, what?"

'Do you think I could meet your friends?'

I hadn't even thought of that. Caeden hadn't even asked to see them yet, then again he'd already met Jack. Oops. I realized that I hadn't yet told him about meeting the other guardians. I'd also not told him about my roommates yet. "Maybe." I pulled out my sketchpad and a pencil. "Do you really believe in them?" I put my feet up against the edge of the table and settled my pad in my lap. I wouldn't be tempted to set it o the table that way, and there'd be no chance of it becoming visible.

'Why wouldn't I? You're real, why wouldn't they be? You all exist right?'

"Yep, all of us. Even Pitch."

She sat back a little. 'Should you talk about him? I mean, we shouldn't believe in him right?'

"You can believe in him all you want. What you shouldn't do is be afraid of him. It might even do him some good to interact without being feared."

She looked thoughtful after that. We both worked on our respective pieces. She was still painting Imaginary, while I was drawing how the song felt, as I could still hear it. The bell jolted both of us out of our trances though. I looked up at her as she rushed to put everything away. "Maybe I shouldn't draw next to someone so absorbed. When they have a schedule to keep that is."

She laughed softly. "Maybe not."

M looked over at her. "Did you say something?"

"No... I was just... talking to myself."

M nodded in acceptance. I giggled while she looked at me confused. "Nothing."

I went to the Choir room once the students had cleared the halls. I didn't worry about the cameras of students now. There was no class at the moment and the door opened inwards, the camera didn't point towards the door either. I had free reign in this one spot. I opened the door. Man that felt good, I was getting tired of having to slip in behind people and such. This was much more my style. Freedom to do what I want without having to wait for someone else.

I took a stroll around the room, loving that it was empty. The last time I'd been in the room was twelve years ago, in eighth grade. I'd stopped taking choir then because I'd gotten tired of endless classical songs and not liking one of them. I wanted to sing what I wanted, when I wanted. And I didn't want to be shushed because I was singing with abandon while the others surrounding me were demure. Eugh. I noticed that they had one of the rolling T.V.s in the room, and laughed a little that they still had them. A flash of purple caught my eye and I leaned down to look at the VCR tape sitting on the shelf underneath the T.V. If I could have seen myself at that moment, I'd say my features softened. Instead, I'll say that nostalgia flooded me upon reading the title. Rigoletto.

I instantly began humming my favorite song from the movie. Mrs. Boger had been showing that movie for years before I'd even started at Brandywine. I'd seen it once before her class, on T.V. when I was probably seven years old. We hadn't been able to finish watching it in class and I begged my mom to take me to Family Video down the street and rent it. To my great relief they actually had a copy. It wasn't until years later that I figured out that no one had ever heard of it.

The last time I'd seen it, I'd rented it again. I'd been watching a compilation on youtube of the best auditions for American Idol and, for the ten seconds they showed this duet, I instantly recognized the song. They'd been singing The Melody Within The Curse which is actually a mash-up of The Melody Within and The Curse. Which, in essence are the same song, with different lyrics. One sounds darker and the other lighter, for a reason. I still had all three on my iPod. It was these three songs, which I consider three parts of a whole, that I was humming.

Now that I had it in my head, I couldn't get it out, not that I really wanted to. That meant it was time for me to sing it. I'd been singing since I could mimic the sounds, even if I didn't understand that they were words. Music speaks to me as much as any story. I was dancing around the room, which wasn't small, singing my heart out to the air. I was lost in the music, and I wasn't in the mood to find my way out. Then I heard the door open. I half ignored it, I kept singing, but stopped dancing, more or less. I turned to see who walked in and almost keeled over. "Megan?"

Megan was one of my two best friends from when I'd been mortal. She'd even called me her sister, that's how close we'd been. Song forgotten, I was stunned. She looked so different from the last time I'd seen her... which had been the day I'd died. We'd even gotten ice cream a few hours prior to me leaving for home. She was maybe an inch taller, she'd lost a lot of weight, and, from the looks of things, she'd finally gotten enough money to get the braces she'd always wanted, but her mom had been to psychotic to get for her. She was wearing her hair a little longer than the shoulder length I'd been used to as well. She was very different, but she was still Megan.

She looked like she'd just seen a ghost. Realization dawned. It'd be more appropriate to say that she looked like she'd just heard a ghost. She'd heard me singing. I could see her trying to figure out a plausible explanation as to why she'd just heard her dead friend's voice wafting out of the choir room. I was frozen to the spot. I didn't know to be scared, excited, flattered, or sad. I was stuck in adrenaline fueled stillness instead. What's she doing here? Megan had wanted to go places almost as much as me. Almost. She'd always wanted to be a mom though, so she would have been happy settling down. She'd told me she wanted to be a social worker, if she had a choice. I'd have thought she'd be at least in Chicago or some place, well, not Niles.

I was so stunned I didn't react until she was almost on top of me, literally. She'd been moving towards me, in a daze and looking around. I jumped out of the way and knocked over a chair in my haste. She snapped her head towards the sound and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the toppled chair. I was breathing hard, torn between staying and wanting to see my friend again, comfort her and tell her that it was just me, that I wasn't dead, that I'd gotten to do everything I'd wanted... and running the other way. I ran. Out the door, letting it bang shut behind me. I ran all the way to the other end on the school, to the lecture hall. I hid in the dark, feeling guilty and cowardly.

I stayed in the dark until the bells told me that Caeden would be having lunch... and then stayed longer. About the time the lunches were all over one of the doors cracked open and a small sliver of light grew as someone peeked in. "There you are!" I turned my head in surprise and saw Tanya's head sticking into the room. She walked in and flipped on one of the lights, so it was now, dim instead of dark. "I've been looking for you all day! I figured I'd at least see you at lunch... Why are you sitting in here with the lights off?"

She walked over to me and sat down in the chair next to me. Noticing my expression she asked, "Hey, what's the matter. You look sad."

"I just saw one of my best friends, one who was like a sister to me."

"And?"

I looked at her, too down to be sarcastic. "She didn't see me. She heard me singing and it scared the shit out of her. I'm dead remember? Or, at least, I died and came back. As far as anyone here knows, I died and my body was never found... She almost walked through me." I buried my face into my knees even further. I felt a hand place itself comfortingly on my shoulder. I glanced to my left.

Tanya's concerned face peered back at me. "I'm sorry..." She gave me a small smile. "You know, I'd forgotten that immortals were incorporeal to people who don't believe in them. I guess I slipped into your world pretty quickly, huh?" I smiled ad laughed softly and weakly. "What?"

"You're so much like me. Books, music, art, stories in general, personality... It's like someone took me and added some more normal things into the mix to get you." I looked at the back of the seat in front of me. "That's why I'm so glad that I could get you to see me." I looked back at her. "You know. You get stories... just like me. That's why I became Story Tale and not some other legend. Manny knew how much stories mean to me, and he knew it was high time that there was a legend dedicated to them." I was a little surprised I was telling her this. I didn't even say these things to Caeden or to Jack. Why was she so much different. It's because she's me. She'll react the same, and she wont misinterpret anything. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I have English right now, yeah. I asked Breneman if I could go to the library though. I wanted to find you and see what was going on."

"Shouldn't you be getting back to class, then?"

"Not without you. I'm not letting you sit alone in the dark."

I chuckled but stood up. "Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming." She smiled and got up to lead the way. I turned off the light, noticing that she forgot. I followed her to Breneman's room and sat on the floor next to her as they worked on something or other. "Are you planning on signing his podium next year?"

'Maybe.'

"What do you mean, 'maybe'? You should. I did."

'Really? Where?'

I got up and walked over to the podium I crouched down and found my scrawled former name, near the bottom. I pointed it out. "It's right here, at the bottom. Find Beer Ghost you find my name."

'You know who Beer Ghost is?'

"Chickie, I introduced him to the school. Bob and Alfonzo were hovering from school to school, but I brought Beer Ghost."

She was wide eyed, not that anyone noticed. Everyone else had their nose in their project, even Breneman. 'You started Beer Ghost?'

"That, I did. I take pride in that fact, now that I know he makes regular appearances." I stood up and almost came face to face with Breneman. I say almost because, though I saw him, he didn't see me. I sighed. "I really wish I could talk to you again." I turned and went back to my spot on the floor near Tanya's desk.

'What was that about?'

"Breneman was one of my favorite teachers. He probably remembers the origin of Beer Ghost... I wish he remembered me."

Tanya wouldn't let me leave her side for the rest of the day. I think part of her was worried about me. It was nice that she cared about me - and wasn't mothering me. After the last bell rang she didn't walk towards the doors. Instead she walked towards Breneman's room. "Hey, aren't you gonna miss your bus?"

She shrugged. "I can walk. Besides, I'll be able to talk to you without looking crazy if it's on my way home."

"True." I called a blank page and scrawled a note to Caeden saying I'd be back at about 9:00pm. I folded it into an airplane and launched it. The plane didn't fall like one normally would, but rather kept soring until it floated out the window and presumably to Caeden.

"What was that for?"

"It's how I send messages to people." She nodded in acceptance without asking who it was for. We walked into Breneman's room and she went up to his podium.

"Hey, Breneman." She crouched down on one side of the podium. Pointing at my signature, she said, "I noticed Beer Ghost was on your podium, is this the person who tagged him?"

He craned his head to look. "Oh, yeah, Tori. She was a cool student. She was always recommending books to me. She's actually the one who told me about Swan Sister, that book I told you to look up."

I was shocked. Breneman had told her about the book? "Really?" She seemed to be trying to get us to talk to each other, without being able to talk. "Hey, is it true that you've taken your ponytail out before?"

He laughed. Even though Breneman was probably in his seventies now, he still acted like a little kid half the time. That's one of the reasons I'd liked him so much. "Yeah, a few times the Seniors badgered me into it. It's cool, though. A few times the kids took pictures too." He laughed again, which had been his response to us taking pictures in the first place.

"I've almost finished the book, by the way, what's the next one gonna be?"

"Oh, you don't need to read the next one yet, just read your own stuff until we start it."

"Ok, bye."

"See you Monday." Tanya and I walked out of Breneman's class and down the hall. Before we weren't even outside before I started in.

"What was that about? What was the point of asking Breneman about Beer Ghost? And how did you know about his hair?"

"I heard you talking yesterday. I heard you say that you had the picture of him with his hair down." We stepped out the doors, me opening it of my own will. Screw the cameras. We started walking through the parking lot. "You said you wished he remembered you. He does. So does Ms. Mitchel. It was you she was talking about yesterday, wasn't it?"

"Smarty pants." She snorted. "What?"

"'Smarty pants'? Really? No one says that."

"Yeah, it was out of style when I was in school too. My mom used to say it a lot, I picked it up from her. That, and using stupid as an adjective. Stupid big, stupid long, stupid early, etc." We got to the corner where the entrance to the school met the road before I spoke again. "Thanks."

She looked at me and smiled. "No problem."